UConn's Charles a go-to player for USA

By Rich Elliott, STAFF WRITER

Published 1:17 pm, Monday, August 31, 2009

STORRS -- The talent was always there for UConn rising senior center Tina Charles. She would dominate games effortlessly at times. Other times, she looked content to be nothing more than a role player for the Huskies.

It took a while for Charles to realize her true potential, to take things more personally on the court. Right along, she told UConn coach Geno Auriemma not to give up on her no matter how frustrated he became with her inconsistency.

Auriemma never did give up on Charles. And she never did give up on herself on the way to becoming an All-American during a breakout season in 2008-09.

"I guess it's just me wanting it more and taking things more personally and trying to be on the same page as coach,'' said Charles, back on campus Tuesday after leading Team USA to the gold medal at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. "It just shows that the way coach coaches is really good. He pushes you, but he knew what I wanted. And he stood by me and made me the player I want to be and the player he knew I could be.''

That player Auriemma knew Charles could be was on display on the international stage last week. In the gold medal game, Charles produced game-highs of 28 points and 18 rebounds in Team USA's 83-64 rout of Russia. She averaged team-highs of 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds and had three double-doubles in seven games in the tournament.

Team USA and Arizona State head coach Charli Turner Thorne called Charles a go-to player on a go-to team.

"I think she has really kind of picked up where she left off in the postseason for UConn,'' Turner Thorne said after the final game. "She was unstoppable in a lot of games. Being with her every day, you can see that she could be one of the all-time great post players.''

Charles' performance in that seven-game stretch was important in her continued growth. It proved that her accomplishments in the 2009 NCAA tournament could become a regular occurrence next season.

"It did mean a lot,'' Charles said. "(Auriemma) told me that if I push myself, I have an opportunity to have an even better senior year than Renee (Montgomery). I wanted to take hold of that, and it started here.''

And with this experience behind her, Charles now has her sights set on an even bigger stage: the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where Auriemma will be the coach of Team USA.

"I think just the way my life has been going, just the way basketball's turning out for me, of course, it'll be a great opportunity if I could even just try out,'' Charles said. "I'll just be happy with that. But to make the team, I'll be so happy. I think it will mean more to my family because they've been with me the whole way, and just the fact that I'm an American and just to represent my country on that kind of national level and just to be able to play with Coach again, I think it'll be unbelievable.''

Charles left no doubt that she evolved into one of the elite post players in the country during the NCAA tournament. She averaged 18.3 points and 12.2 rebounds with four double-doubles during UConn's run to its first national championship since 2004.

But it was her performance in the NCAA tournament final against Louisville that completed her journey to the top. Charles finished with 25 points (11-of-13 FG) and a team NCAA tournament-record 19 rebounds in being named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

"After the game against Stanford (at the Final Four) my sophomore year in the tournament, coach challenged me and just said we don't have a post presence,'' Charles said. "From there I wanted to show that I can be that center and I think I'm making my way there.''

Charles averaged a career-high 16.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 25.2 minutes last season for the undefeated Huskies. She led the team in shooting percentage (.620), blocks and rebounds (tie) and had 13 double-doubles.

Charles, who was named a State Farm All-American and a second-team All-American by The Associated Press, is ranked 10th in team history in scoring (1,638 points) and third in rebounding (995). Aside from climbing the ranks in both categories, she said she hopes to take on more of a leadership role next season.

"I guess you can just basically say that my confidence is all the way up there,'' Charles said. "Life is good right now and basketball's going great. I'm just trying to show my teammates I came a long way, because they were there personally with me day-in and day-out with coach, and they know I've changed. I'm just trying to change every time and I'm just trying to get better.''